i got a 2012 North Team Series last year, new, from an online dealer i've used before that has always given me good deals, never had any other problems with gear i've gotten from them.

within 2 months, moderate use, the handle had torn in half (its rubber, but i thought it would be tougher than that). i didn't sweat it since i don't do board offs, but it was still kind of a drag since it was a relatively new board

then three months later, riding in surf, one of the fins unscrewed itself, twisting sideways and dropping one screw. again i was able to get in without issue, but i lost those screws. it's happened twice since then, losing screws both times. again i never lost the fins- but good luck finding a screw thats the right length, diameter, and thread spacing to fit a north board. stores don't carry them, at least not in the US.

so i have a board, with old crap fins and no handles. otherwise its pretty good- but i'm not gonna bother contacting the dealer since its clearly a defect with the board design. and its practically impossible to contact north directly since their websites just basically direct you back to where you bought their gears..

anyone else had issues with this or other north gear? how the hell do i get in touch with them directly

monkeymongrels wrote:i got a 2012 North Team Series last year, new, from an online dealer i've used before that has always given me good deals, never had any other problems with gear i've gotten from them.

within 2 months, moderate use, the handle had torn in half (its rubber, but i thought it would be tougher than that). i didn't sweat it since i don't do board offs, but it was still kind of a drag since it was a relatively new board

then three months later, riding in surf, one of the fins unscrewed itself, twisting sideways and dropping one screw. again i was able to get in without issue, but i lost those screws. it's happened twice since then, losing screws both times. again i never lost the fins- but good luck finding a screw thats the right length, diameter, and thread spacing to fit a north board. stores don't carry them, at least not in the US.

so i have a board, with old crap fins and no handles. otherwise its pretty good- but i'm not gonna bother contacting the dealer since its clearly a defect with the board design. and its practically impossible to contact north directly since their websites just basically direct you back to where you bought their gears..

anyone else had issues with this or other north gear? how the hell do i get in touch with them directly

thanks for the sounding board

I bought a North board used from a dealer, never had a problem with the fins or handle. If you go to a real hardware store or West Marine you can get stainless replacement screws of the right size and type.

I have a 2011 gonzales and once in a while I have to check and tighten the screws. Mr friend's handle broke too. I personally don't see it as a problem, but I'm not sure if these checks aren't necessary on all boards.

Own the 2012 Jaime Pro, have not yet ridden it but the thing with the handle was that it did not fit (the distance between two holes on the handle was about 4 mm shorter than on the board). I had to redrill/expand the holes on the handle to fix it to the board. Also all the fins seem to have a bit different angle when fixed on the board. Not what you would expect from a 500+ euro item. All this can be seen as minor problems of course and im sure that i will perform well, just wanted to share my experience.

You will rarely if ever find the right hardware at a Lowes or Home Depot (big box hardware store). I have had great luck at Ace Hardware and West Marine stores for the stainless steel metric hardware, though.